WhatFinger


Second verse, same as the first

Since it worked out so well last time, Dems might force another shutdown this week to protect illegals



Since it worked out so well last time, Dems might force another shutdown this week to protect illegals There's no conceivable way Chuck Schumer can think this is a good idea. Before the last shutdown to protect illegals, he was understandably under the impression that any government shutdown for any reason would redound to the benefit of Democrats because the media would dutifully blame Republicans regardless of the actual facts. What he didn't count on was that Democrats' motives would be so transparently obvious that even the media's efforts to run interference for them wouldn't be enough to fool the public.
He has to know that if they pull the same stunt again, the result will be even worse for Democrats. Or does he?
That six-month skirmish ended last month with Congress unable to legislate new protection from deportation for 700,000 “Dreamers” after Trump ended an Obama-era program giving them temporary legal status. At one point, the standoff forced Washington into a three-day government shutdown in January when funding ran out. This time, Republicans hope to get enough money to hire 500 more Customs and Border Protection agents and 1,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. That would be the start of an eventual increase of CBP’s workforce by 5,000 and ICE’s by 10,000. Democrats have noted that the agencies are falling short in filling all positions Congress already has authorized. Negotiators are expected to work through the weekend as House of Representatives leaders hope to unveil a bill early next week so it can be debated on the House floor by midweek, with a Senate vote by the March 23 deadline.

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I think there are two possibilities here. The less likely possibility is that Schumer, his caucus members and his media allies think they've got a better strategy this time and it will allow them to return to the glory days of shutdowns that are engineered by Democrats and blamed on Republicans. Sure, it blew up in their faces last time, but they just didn't have their messaging right! This time, Schumer will come out with clearer talking points, which will be dutifully parroted by CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times and so on. Democrats will win the day by doing the exact same thing the public was mad at them for just a couple of months ago. The more likely possiblity is that Schumer feels like he has no choice. Having established the principle that Democrats are willing to shut down the government to protect any greater enforcement of immigration law, he can't come back and do anything less in any subsequent spending bill vote. His base will kill him for it if he does. His base is insane, of course, and has no sense of strategic reality. But Schumer took them to the mountain once and they're not going to be satisfied with the bunny hill at any subsequent juncture. That would mean we're looking at a shutdown that no one wants - not even the people doing the shutting - but that will happen anyway because Schumer has boxed himself in strategically and can't think of a way to avoid it. Such is the way of Washington these days. Aren't you glad such outstanding people run the federal government? Remember, we could avoid all this if we passed real budgets - and we could do that if we got rid of the filibuster. But Mitch McConnell won't hear of it. In case you were wondering why the Senate Minority Leader still essentially runs the country.

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Dan Calabrese’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain

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